I'm not a lord

Chapter 210 The Threat from the Southern Border

After meeting with the two groups of craftsmen, Lynn's work was still not over.

In the evening, he hosted a small banquet in the military camp to entertain a group of intellectuals from Sanhe City.

This group of intellectuals was mainly composed of clergy, but also included a small number of emerging urban citizens and descendants of secular nobles.

In the Northern Kingdom and throughout the continent, the cost of education is extremely high.

Those who had the money and leisure to read books were mainly priests, nobles, and merchants, and priests mostly came from the latter two classes.

Now, Lynn needs to assemble a secretariat and a diplomatic team, as well as set up a complete set of central and circuit courts for the White River Territory. The range of talent he can choose from is quite narrow.

In fact, he offended all three types of talents in the Baihe River basin.

Lynn confiscated more than ten monasteries in the western suburbs of Sanhe City, and incorporated their land, people and property into Baihe Territory. He even planned to dismantle the remaining ten or so large bronze bells to cast bronze mortars.

The priests lost most of their source of income and could only survive on donations from some of their followers.

Not to mention the nobility, they were completely wiped out by Lynn.

The priests at least retained two churches in the city as residences, but the land grant system that the nobles relied on had been completely abolished by Lynn.

Most of the landed nobles in Sanhe City originated from the six former baronies.

After the Battle of Green Lake Territory in March of this year, most of the local nobles fled to Golden Deer Castle, but a small number of them chose to stay in Three Rivers City to see how things went.

This included the elderly Baron of the River Marsh and his young grandson.

But Lynn still didn't let them go.

After unifying the Baihe territory, he immediately took over the Sanhe City.

Now these fallen nobles are completely homeless and wandering ghosts, barely surviving on Lynn's whims.

As for the businessmen, they were also offended by Lynn.

They used to have an overwhelming majority of seats in the city council, but now they are forced to share the seats with the craft guilds and have to bear more of the city's daily expenses. How can they not feel resentful?
Of course, the merchant class was not monolithic; a group of merchants, led by Mayor Leon and grain merchant Marcel, had become completely tied to Lynn.

Moreover, despite their resentment, Lynn's willingness to give intellectuals the opportunity to "enter officialdom" was a tremendous blessing for them.

People tend to talk about their region and background.

If there are suitable and high-paying jobs in one's hometown, who would want to leave their homeland?
Moreover, the transportation situation in the North is extremely bad, and there are bandits everywhere. If you go out without strong bodyguards, it's like being delivered to someone's door.
These days, intellectuals have three ways to monetize their knowledge.

They worked for nobles or in cities, or they struggled to join the church.

The church in Sanhe City seems to have no future, and if these intellectuals want to find a good job nearby, they really can only pin their hopes on Earl Shirakawa.

Anyone with eyes can see that although Sanhe City still carries the title of autonomous city, can this 'autonomy' really be considered autonomous?
The mayor can be appointed directly, and the allocation of seats in the city council can be changed at will; the only thing missing is sending troops to garrison the city.

After the dinner, Finn, who was sitting next to Lynn, stood up and introduced the recruitment list of 'Boss Zhipin' to the attendees.

Finn was a young steward in the former White Bear Territory. He was ordered by Lynn to manage the salt trading post with Albert Jr., and was responsible for trading salt with the wastelanders.

Later, due to her outstanding work, Lynn transferred her to her side as a secretary, where she was responsible for some of the paperwork.

Finn's ability in academic secretarial work was only barely passable.

His only two advantages are his humble origins and his loyalty and reliability. He owes his current position entirely to Lynn's promotion.

However, his personal abilities have become difficult to improve significantly, and after a year of training, he still only has a one-star rating.

After all, he was just a manor manager from a small town. He didn't have much education when he was young, and he didn't have much experience as an adult. Most of his abilities were focused on managing farmers.

Finn could barely manage to write simple documents.

But when it comes to complex topics such as law, cities, or business, he is completely lost and has to consult Lynn in detail before he dares to put pen to paper.

Lynn certainly wanted to use an excellent secretary, but he couldn't find anyone before!
He was just a bandit leader who came from out of town to make a living in the Marshland Duchy. How many high-level connections could he possibly have?

If he were truly of noble birth, even if he were just a baron, he could find various relatives to assist him after gaining power.

Even if you search through the family genealogy and look through all your distant relatives, you can always find a few educated relatives.

Unfortunately, he really wasn't a lord!
Even after Lynn conquered the entire White River Territory, the problem of talent shortage remained severe.

After all, it was just a few rural baronies pieced together to form an earldom. The original noble class had either been killed or fled. How many talented people could there be?
Lynn traveled all over the White River Territory, and only the current Heron County Magistrate, Oleg, was considered a promising talent, having already earned a three-star rating at the age of thirty.

As for Finn, who was by his side, Lynn planned to send him out to be the county magistrate of the newly occupied territory after a while, which would be a good use of his talents.

Fortunately, Lynn now possessed Three Rivers City, where he had a wide array of talented people to choose from.

He had already chosen a candidate from among the group of people sitting in the audience.

That was Victor, the younger brother of Marcel, a major grain trader and the newly elected city councilor.

This man is in his early thirties, a proper graduate of a monastery school, and also earned a bachelor's degree in law from a church university in Amber Harbor.

Upon returning to Three Rivers, Victor served as a notary in the city council, responsible for drafting various legal documents, including business contracts, inheritance documents, and various city council documents.

He was well-versed in the secular and urban laws of the North, and could draft various types of official documents. He was known for his strictness and impartiality in Three Rivers and was considered a highly qualified talent throughout the North.

It is a very common arrangement in merchant families in large municipalities for the elder brother to inherit the family business while the younger brother studies law or theology.

Lynn's plan was to promote Victor to be his secretary and legal secretary, and then, when the time was right, send him out as a judge in the central court or circuit court.

Incidentally, Marcel's sixteen-year-old daughter has moved into the western suburban military camp and is temporarily taking care of Lynn's daily life.

In every sense, the brothers Marcel and Victor were already related to Lynn by marriage, and were relatively trustworthy acquaintances.

The thought of this really gave Lynn a headache.

Besides Marcel, several other businessmen also wanted to send their beautiful daughters or nieces into the army.

After all, with Leon as an outstanding example, who wouldn't be envious of his rise from a black market merchant to the new mayor?
Lynn wasn't a womanizer, but he couldn't resist taking these young and beautiful girls.

If he doesn't accept it, how can the Marcel brothers be so devoted to him?
Would Victor really give up his promising position as a notary to become his secretary in the palace?

They just want the whole family to take it a step further, even several steps. Is that a wrong idea?
There's absolutely nothing wrong with it!
After Finn finished reading the recruitment list, Victor, who was standing in the audience acting as a clerk, immediately stood up and volunteered to be the lord's scribe.

With Victor leading the way, about ten more people expressed their willingness to serve the lord.

Lynn glanced at them silently and noticed that most of those who volunteered for official positions came from merchant families.

The majority of the group, the clergy, remained relatively quiet, and no one stood up for the time being.

Needless to say, the smallest noble group consisted of only a handful of people, all with their heads bowed, showing no intention of serving their lord. Their presence at the banquet was most likely due to Lynn's 'tyranny'.

Lynn was not surprised by this situation.

To serve a lord is to brand yourself with the lord's crest.

It's like a tattoo; it's easy to get it on, but difficult to remove it completely.

Although Lynn currently has a strong army and has won two great victories in a row, which has solidified his title as Earl of Shirakawa, he has also been granted the position of executive officer by the royal family.

Ultimately, however, his faction was too young and its foundation too shallow, and it had already forged a deadly feud with the seemingly invincible Duke of the Swamp. Before serving him, anyone had to consider whether they could withstand the Duke of the Swamp's boundless wrath.

The reason why the business class eagerly signed up was mainly because they had no other choice.

More than half a month ago, the reason why Lynn was able to easily take over Three Rivers City was because the merchants and craftsmen led the defection.
If Lynn falls from power in the future, these active rebels will inevitably be purged.

Since there was no way out, they naturally chose to become deeply tied to Lynn, betting the rise and fall of their families on this death game called 'whether Lynn can continue to win'.

The priests, on the other hand, were forced to surrender during the Battle of Three Rivers. Their bodies had not yet been transformed into Lynn's 'shape', and their leader, Bishop Rotterge, was still imprisoned in the dark dungeon.

Therefore, they still have room to maneuver.

If the Duke of the Swamp is crowned king and reclaims Three Rivers City, they will still be able to serve the Duke.

The same situation applies to the nobles.

Lynn didn't want to force them.

Recruiting officials for a lord is not much different from blind dating; what can you do if you don't hit it off?
You can't force a relationship to be sweet, especially since she's staying by his side as his secretary.

Recruiting a dozen or so people would be enough to form a secretariat, and even have the capacity to form a rudimentary central court.

As for the diplomatic team, there's no need to rush. At this time, envoys from other forces will be vying to come to him, so there's no need for him to take the initiative to send people out.

Incidentally, Lynn has successfully recruited a group of qualified teachers in Three Rivers City and sent them to Heron County.

Timo's school will soon be able to operate at full capacity, and will also be able to introduce a new law program. By next spring, it should be able to produce a batch of qualified graduates.

Lynn knew that talent couldn't be rushed. He would wait until he won a few more battles and occupied a wider territory, and then more outstanding talents would naturally come to him.

While a recruitment fair was being held at the military camp in the western suburbs, the royal palace in Amber Harbor was also brightly lit.

"Cheers, cheers!"

"Ha ha, congratulations on His Majesty Morris's great victory!"

"Long live the great Emperor Maurice! Long live the great House of Urinnis!"

After confirming that the Duke of the Marshland had withdrawn his troops, a grand banquet was held at the palace that evening to celebrate the victory in this difficult defensive battle.

Leading the cheers were, of course, a group of lackeys and ministers appointed by King Maurice.

They were on the same ship as Maurice, and once Amber Harbor fell, they would surely be sent to the guillotine by the Duke of the Marsh.

But now the Duke of the Marshland was helpless against the fortified walls of Amber Harbor and had no choice but to retreat. This relieved the ministers who had been on tenterhooks all day, and they were overjoyed and celebrated.

Even the usually cautious Mayor Neil was singing and dancing in the crowd, and he even embraced a lady and danced a wanton duet on the spot.

After escaping the threat of death, they needed a complete celebration to wash away the depression of the past two months.

In fact, not only were people celebrating inside the palace, but citizens outside were also parading around with torches all night to celebrate.

They sang songs composed by bards, and their praises of King Maurice resounded to the heavens.

Who would dare say that Maurice was a bastard king now?
At least no one in Amber Harbor dares to do it.

"Next week, no, tomorrow, I will send troops out of the city to reclaim the Crown Territory and restore the family's glory!"

King Maurice sat back on his throne, holding a full glass of red wine in one hand and a whale horn scepter in the other, describing his grand vision to his wife, children, and close advisors with a dreamy look in his eyes.

Morris had indeed been suppressing his feelings for far too long.

He has been living in fear for more than half a year since he was crowned king last December.

Today's 'great victory' made him feel incredibly good, as if he had just finished relieving himself after two weeks of constipation, and he felt like he was flying.

Even with his confidence, he dared not send troops to pursue the Duke of the Swamp today.

The crushing defeat in the forest north of Coron had truly left him with a psychological scar; he would never allow his soldiers to leave Amber Harbor before the Duke of the Swamp had made a firm retreat.

Currently, a thousand urban militiamen and a thousand southern mercenaries are still stationed on the city walls, and they will be able to change shifts and celebrate tomorrow.

“Your Majesty, you are the destined restorer of the Urenis family. Under your radiance, all the subjects of the Northern Kingdoms will bow their heads.”

Listening to the flattery of his close advisors, Maurice downed the entire glass of red wine in one gulp, completely succumbing to delusion and madness:

“That’s right, you’re absolutely right! Lothair is nothing special. I’ll cut off his head sooner or later and hang that thing on the west gate of Amber Harbor for a whole year! Hahaha!”

In contrast to the bustling royal palace, Princess Chloris's small bedroom was filled with the chirping of insects.

Chloris knew very well that the Duke of the Swamp chose to retreat not only because of the fierce resistance of the citizens of Amber Harbor and the dampness brought by the July rainy season, but also because of the threat from Three Rivers City.

If it weren't for Lynn's betrayal, the Duke of the Marshland would certainly have been able to mobilize more troops and supplies, and Amber Harbor might not have been able to hold out until the rainy season.

Thinking about this, Chloris couldn't help but hum to herself, "Looks like I should write a letter to thank Lynn. If it weren't for him, I might really have married Laszlo."

László was the eldest son of the Duke of the Swamp, and by blood, he was Chloris's nephew.

Lynn's sudden rise indirectly helped Chloris escape the predicament of consanguineous marriage.

After thinking for a moment, the little princess got up and took a map from the bookshelf.

This is a detailed map of the Crown Territory, marking the exact location of every city and every noble territory.

She wanted to use the map to analyze the Duke of the Marsh's next move.

But the noise from outside the window grew increasingly louder, interrupting Chloris's thoughts.

She frowned, closed the window, and drew the curtains, but this didn't do much to block out the sound.

Whether it was an illusion or not, the noise in the palace seemed to grow even more jarring.

"A victory that can hardly be called a victory is enough to drive my illegitimate uncle completely mad? He thinks he can rebuild the family's glory? Dream on!"

Chloris believed she had a more thorough understanding of the situation in the Northern Kingdom than Maurice did.

The Duke of the Marsh's retreat is only temporary. If he hardens his heart and ignores Lynn's presence, he won't even need to retreat back to his stronghold, Golden Deer Castle.

He has occupied most of the Crown Territory, and he has also enfeoffed nobles in some of the newly occupied territories. The core court knight force is still relatively well-organized.

Even more devastatingly, the rural communities within a hundred kilometers of Amber Harbor had completely collapsed, with a large number of farmers forced into becoming thieves and bandits.

The autumn harvest is just around the corner. After only one to two months of rest, the Duke of the Swamp will be able to make a comeback. Even the siege cannon fodder is readily available.

Given the fighting strength of the civilian troops in Amber Harbor, they would be no match for the Duke of the Marsh in the open field.

Morris will still be forced back to Amber Harbor.

And is the only enemy the Northern Kingdom faces really the Duke of the Swamp?

Chloris recently received a secret letter from her mother's family; her brother-in-law from the South seemed to be getting restless.

(End of this chapter)